OPI Fall 2013 San Francisco Collection: My Picks (w swatches)!

Being the nail polish hoarder that I am, I rarely get excited these days by new nail polish releases: I usually already own a similar enough shade, so I find it a lot more sensible to "shop my stash" and use up what I got. OPI's San Francisco collection, however, and especially its metallic shades, made me reconsider - I mean, seriously, who can resist some holo metallic goodness (I did mention I'm a hoarder, yes?)!

The three shades I immediately fell for were:I Knead Sour-Dough, Muir Muir on the Wall, and Peace & Love & OPI. And seeing as the two latter ones were included in the mini kit from the same collection, I decided to opt for that one and try two more shades, instead of just three full sized bottles (again, hoarder, see a pattern?).

Let's have a closer looksie!

OPI I Knead Sour-Dough is a metallic tarnished brick red shade, with a hint of purple. Very hard to describe 100%, as it sits right in the middle of brown, berry and red in my eyes, but, of course, that's exactly where its appeal lies. Unique shade and purrrrfect for fall! Application was pretty much standard, i.e. opacity was reached after 2 coats.

OPI First Date at the Golden Gate is, as the name suggests, a warm bright red, inspired by the famous Golden Gate bridge. Many consider this a creme, but I think it's more of a jelly finish, in any case it required 3 coats to look even. All in all, a nice classic red, but I'd bet it's easily dupable.

OPI Muir Muir on the Wall is a whole different story! One of the prettiest and most interesting shades that we've seen recently (and I say this, being complimented on it), Muir Muir is a gorgeous duo/triple-chrome shimmer! I couldn't capture its full beauty on my nails, so I included a photo of the bottle, where you can see it ranging from purple to golden green! By far my favorite of the bunch! Application wise, 2 coats would do the trick, but a third adds some extra depth!

OPI In the Cable Car-Pool Lane is a basic plum purple jelly. Nothing to write home about, except maybe, that, just like First Date at the Golden Gate, it requires three coats to look even.

OPI Peace & Love & OPI is another holographic shade, in fact it's considered a dupe for Essie For The Twill of It. I don't own the Essie one, but as far as I can report, it's also a gunmetal color, with a purple/teal duochrome effect (again, you can get a better idea from the bottle photo). Interesting concept, and definitely an eye-catching shade, but not a personal favorite of mine - it's not the shade's fault, I just prefer warmer colors this season. As far as the application goes, it goes opaque after 2 coats.

Did you get anything from this collection? If you own Essie For the Twill of It, how does it compare to Peace & Love & OPI?